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The Emily Whitehead Foundation is proud to recognize Tom Whitehead as the inaugural Beacon of Hope Embassador Award recipient, with the award being named in his honor as the Thomas G. Whitehead Beacon of Hope Embassador Award.

The award, presented at the Foundation’s 2024 Believe Ball, was created to honor Tom and other individuals in years to come for unwavering support to patients and their families – for being a beacon of hope along their treatment journeys when hope can be hard to find.

As the father of Emily Whitehead, who became the first pediatric patient to receive CAR T-cell therapy and is now considered cured, Tom made it his mission to pay it forward to other patients and families. Three years after Emily’s treatment, the Whitehead family established the Emily Whitehead Foundation to increase awareness of advanced therapies and the need for wider access to treatment and to provide patient support. Every day Tom acts on that mission. He offers guidance, makes connections and is often the first individual families call when they are searching for alternative treatment options.

“I’m grateful every day that when the next family calls me that I am able to take that call,” Tom said. “Every day since we brought Emily home, I try to pay it forward. I know the miracle we received. My goal every day is to make sure that the next patient to reach out has the same outcome as us and I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing that.”

Tom is not only the proud father of Emily, but he is also co-founder of the Emily Whitehead Foundation, a keynote speaker, author and journeyman lineman for Penelec, a FirstEnergy Company. He travels across the country and around the world to speak about his family’s story and to spread awareness and hope for a cancer-free future. He has personally connected hundreds of families to clinical trials and support and has fostered industry connections to amplify the patient voice and the need to increase access to treatment.

Tom is a model for future Beacon of Hope Embassador awardees and it is the Foundation’s privilege to name this award in his honor to illuminate his impact. We look forward to shining light on others in the years ahead who are their own beacons of hope.